In times of poverty, sweetpotato played an important role as a famine relief crop in Korea. It was a starch source, alcohol raw material, animal feed and food crop. However, nowadays, sweetpotato is no longer just a mere staple food in Korea. It is a health-giving food to keep Koreans healthy and fit. In other words, the role of sweetpotato has dramatically changed from a simple food to a health food. Health conscious consumers can find good quality sweetpotato during the whole year round with the launching and development of an early seasonal cultivation method using polyethylene film mulching coupled with state-of-the-art storage technique for the benefit of sweetpotato farmers. Sweetpotato production stabilized with the formation of the six major cultivation areas. Thus, more than 65% of the total sweetpotato production in 2004 were for table use while the balance was processed into starch, flour, soft drinks, wine and the like. Sweetpotato starch is utilized mainly in making dangmyun, a glass noodle. It is also used as a raw material for the production of spirits, snack food, seasoning, etc. Sweetpotato tops, both the tips and the petioles, are also used as a vegetable. High yielding and good quality sweetpotato cultivars including purple and orange colored ones have been developed. Consumers preferred reddish skin color, small size roots (80-150 g), savory and sweet taste, and dry texture.